I'm pretty new to this game and I'm not involved in Sweden RL so the below might not be 100% accurate.

There was a four team 9's tournament in the spring. Then there has been games against Denmark and Norway in the Nordic Cup.

The players on the Sweden team are guys that play Union so any RL activity is on dates when there's no Union being played.

During 2011 there was a three team league (basically Union clubs playing league for a change) playing each other once, but this did not appear during 2012.The teams in the 2011 league are from Gothenburg (2) and Borås,

There seems to be growing interest in the south where there are four Union clubs witin 1½ hours drive. Lund, where the game is to be played, is in the south. Actually the trip to the game will be shorter for the guys from Copenhagen than for many of the Swedish players.

There are practical reasons for starting at rugby union clubs. First they have rugby pitches, balls, tackle pads and posts. It is very hard to start without these, unless you have a very generous donor. People in Sweden who know what rugby league is and would like to play are almost certainly in rugby union clubs, so it is a very good place to start.

However, it is true that you cannot continue your growth on the back of union. Firstly, rugby union clubs will cut of support and secondly, league will always be a secondary sport, and thirdly the pool of players being targetted is simply too small. However, if you hope to bring new players into a game, you have to have games for them to partake in.

Once the sport is there, there is a coaching set-up in place and games taking place, you are then in a position to go into schools, and appeal for fresh players. International matches matter, in my mind, mainly as showcases for the sport in lands where it has no exposure.

I have the pleasure of knowing (to some extent) the lads working in Sweden and they have a tough task but are going the right way about it.